The Mariners’ bullpen needs help. There’s no other way to say it. And it doesn’t take ripping apart the unit or acting like there aren’t enough trustworthy arms to make it through the postseason. The M’s manager Dan Wilson also could use an easier way to navigate it.
Andrés Muñoz is still the name that matters most at the back end. When Matt Brash returns, he can give them the swing-and-miss they need. Gabe Speier, Eduard Bazardo and José A. Ferrer have all been part of the group Seattle can reasonably trust in leverage spots. The issue is not whether the Mariners have enough bullpen talent. It’s how often they’re needed in close games, and how much more they will be needed down the stretch.
So when chatter came up about the proposed Superpen, it may have sounded a little ridiculous at first, but the idea is simple enough. Instead of trading for another middle reliever or forcing a starter into an awkward bullpen role, Seattle would instead promote top Double-A arms Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan and use them as multi-inning weapons down the stretch. Not traditional one-inning relievers. Actual bridge pieces who can cover two or three innings.
Out of the many options, that would be a huge move. One that could either help turn the M’s into a real contender, or could fall extremely flat.
Muñoz, Brash, Speier, Bazardo and Ferrer should not have to rescue every tight game from the fifth inning on. That’s how teams burn through their best relief options before the games get truly unforgiving. The Mariners need a way to get from the rotation to the late innings without constantly asking the same handful of arms to walk across a tightrope.
That’s where Anderson and Sloan come in. They are both starters by trade, and that’s why the idea could work. They’re used to carrying more than three outs. They’re also currently working four-to-five inning games. It’s the perfect way to provide length without turning the game into a bullpen committee. And both guys are perfectly stretched for the role.
A two-inning burst from Anderson or Sloan in the sixth and seventh could completely change how Dan Wilson manages the final third of a game. Suddenly, you don’t have to run the risk of running Brash in back-to-back games. You can even give the committee the night off and use Anderson or Sloan as a piggyback, their new favorite strategy this season.
The Mariners have already shown they’re willing to get weird with pitching usage. The piggyback rotation wasn’t exactly a normal plan, but it made sense for a team trying to protect arms, manage workload and get through awkward schedule pockets without beating up the bullpen.
The Superpen would be the next logical step. And it would be considered a creative one. It has the chance to be pretty efficient. And the front office loves efficiency.
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